Table of Contents
Introduction
The Infinity background includes a broad assortment of mercenary forces, criminal syndicates, private military corporations, and other armed bodies that don’t fall under the aegis of the ‘main’ factions. These are the Non-Aligned Armies (NA2). These are basically a discrete selection of Sectorials, but historically, they were more or less built by mashing-up faction units from two (or more) conventional factions, often with some generic mercenary types and characters thrown in. That made them perhaps most popular as ‘second factions’. New players to Infinity wouldn’t typically start with an NA2; they would go to a main faction or one of its Sectorials, which had a clearer aesthetic and character. Then if they wanted to branch out a bit, by adding some mercenary models or units from another faction, there was an NA2 right there which offered some gameplay options.
The number of NA2 was slashed in N5, but not to the extent we originally expected. Spiral Company were subsumed into Tohaa (they were always basically a variant roster for the avocado-heads). ForCo and StarCo both disappeared, their special characters distributed elsewhere (many gathering in White Company) and their blends of faction units lost. JSA used to be grouped with NA2, but is now its own faction. This leaves Druze Bayram Security, Ikari Company, Dahshat Company, and White Company. While all are mercenary forces, there is a bit of a thematic divide. The first three are bad dudes (™) who are more on the shady/criminal side, while White Co is presented as the odd one out, a more legitimate PMC, at least in the eyes of the big powers of the Human Sphere. This is at least partly reflected in their units and thus playstyle on the table. All the first three have a lot of Irregular, scrappy, highly aggressive units which offer asymmetrical solutions at a budget price. White Co has a range of higher-end middleweight models, and while all four Sectorials have interesting special characters, White Co in particular has an embarrassment of riches in that area.
Let’s explore what this shady, hybrid faction has to offer. To prevent repetition, we are going to discuss shared units first, mentioning them again under the specific Sectorials where relevant.
Common Units
Remotes
All the NA2 use the baseline utility Remotes available to the advanced human factions: WhiteCo gets PanO ones, Druze uses PanO with Haqqislam’s baggage and servant bots, Ikari uses PanO with Yu Jing’s combat remotes, baggage and servant bots, Dahshat uses Haqq bots with Yu Jing combat remotes, but also gets Ariadnan Traktor Muls. The differences in utility Remotes are mostly very minor, a point here or there or some tweaks to combi/rifle/shotgun options. But there are significant differences introduced in each Sectorial by if and how various Remotes can slot into Fireteams – we will mention those in their sections.
Druze, Ikari and Dahshat
Brawlers gained Sixth Sense. This makes their hacker profile more attractive than WIP12 would suggest, since it can ARO against Stealth models moving through its hacking area. It also stops the MSV2 sniper being punked through White Noise if used as an ARO piece. We’ll go through their uses below, but Brawlers can be used as Fireteam glue wherever they appear, and they’re cheap enough, with profiles, for this to be a good idea.
Authorised Bounty Hunters are not terribly competitive against other line infantry types, despite the tempting wildcard of Booty (ReRoll). Motorised Bounty Hunters changed a fair bit with the addition of Limited Cover – basically the red fury option is much worse than before (although still a cheerfully cheap weapon) while the better assault profile, the SMG/chain colt, got better. MBH are quite good, but all the NA2 Sectorials which include them have access to even cheaper, smoke throwing Irregular warbands, which will probably be better all-rounders.
Diggers also appear in those three Sectorials and are excellent warbands and disposable defensive troops – even in N5, 2VITA for 14pts is dirt cheap. These are especially good as close protection/assault for Fireteams. Their one issue is being stopped by hacking defenses.
Triphammers are maybe the most budget TAG in the game. There is indisputable value in having 3STR and 7ARM, even if the model gets a lot worse after taking two Wounds. In previous editions these weren’t regarded as highly competitive units because taking a TAG meant you wanted to win FtF rolls, and it was better to pay the premium and increase your odds. We are not sure, but it looks viable to just take a Triphammer as a second TAG (or just an alternate attack piece) to bully opponents with the amount of ARM and STR. We do have doubts, because of the increased availability of good EM weapons. But we expect these to see some play now, at least the 0SWC HRL option. All the relevant Sectorials can take a better TAG for active-turn gunfights for an affordable points bump, so we don’t think the AP spitfire profiles will be popular.
Bashi Bazouks are looking extremely good in N5, not just from point drops, but because of some great weapon options. They also gained Combat Jump, but on 11s, so that is really a rather desperate option. But every profile has a B2 template for the active turn (so keeping the trading effects of the old light shotgun) and the non-specialists have very punchy T2 weapons. We think one of these will be a common little surprise in relevant Sectorials.
WhiteCo, Druze and Ikari
Scarface is a pretty damn good TAG for his price. Yes he’s only BS13, but you’re buying all the TAG advantages (mobility, TacAware, high Damage, tankiness) for as low as 58pts, with good active turn weapons. One weakness we have to note, while he can bully non-melee units with Berserk, which can be important when pushing onto objectives with the new Turtlemek ancillary Specialist, he does not have any template weapon option. That is a major defensive weakness. He also has to be accompanied by Cordelia Turner, who is fine, not like you didn’t want an engineer for your TAG. But she’s not the engineer you’d take by herself. Druze and Ikari have cheaper options who can also deploy turrets; WhiteCo might consider her but often takes a more active, Fireteam-able option. It’s also a slight pain having your engineer locked into the same starting combat group as your TAG.
TaoWu is a great little surprise piece. For a modest price, including him buys you the ability to Holomask in any sort of mindgame you can imagine, and hiding Counterintelligence and an unexpected, Dogged Specialist for some plays. Both profiles have advantages, one gives a surprise E/Marat for defence and the other a surprise Contender for counter-attacks. This is the kind of piece that will sometimes get written out of competitive lists halfway through to save points, but opponents will have to respect that he could be there. Also goes well in Fireteams, which we’ll mention for each of his Sectorials.
WhiteCo & Druze
The Anaconda remains probably the worst TAG in the game. Comparing it to Scarface, who directly competes with it in both relevant NA2 factions, is enough to make me throw up in my mouth a little.
Kunai Solutions Ninjas were substantially changed, getting two very interesting shooting options, as well as the classic Hidden sniper, which is probably the least competitive but is a solid archetype. We probably rate the AP/Shock marksman over the T2 Thunderbolt; as scary as the latter sounds, going down to B2 on a BS12 model just means you may not accomplish anything when taking gunfights. A very nice secondary gunfighter which can also solve some problems by stealthing up and stabbing – just don’t expect it to kill hard targets in melee with that PS6 Shock CCW.
Bulleteers remain an excellent, repairable gunfighter, while Peacemakers received a substantial boost with the addition of Mimetism-3 and a Minelayer profile (technically for their Auxbot). These were already good defensive pieces, but the changes cement them as an excellent idea, especially for any hacking-heavy list. The combination of template and hacking AROs, or a good FtF with a shotgun, make them excellent in either Sectorial, provided there are places on the table to safely deploy those fat S4 bases.
WhiteCo & Ikari
Cube Jagers were so irrelevant I can’t remember if WhiteCo even had access to them in N4. It’s still a fairly pointless Parachutist Paramedic, but it is cheap, and the SMG variant has the reworked E/Mitter, which means it might actually have a situational use now? Probably still not a common sight.
Dahshat & Ikari
The Al Fasid got the full deck of Sixth Sense, Combat Instinct and Warhorse, so it ignores a fair amount of useful enemy tech, as well as just being an ARM5/BTS6 HI which can always Dodge on unmodified 14s. The cheaper HRL could conceivably be useful as an hybrid ARO/firepower piece. But ultimately it doesn’t have any gunfighting mods, and unlike competing BS13 HI gunners, it can’t join useful Fireteams. This will still be left on the shelf.
The Rui Shi has always been quite a well-regarded combat Remote, cheap and cheerful, and that holds true in Dahshat and Ikari, which have strong engineers and plentiful smoke to synergise with it. The tweaked mine dispenser profile may see play, there is no immediate winner between that and MSV2. We suppose it depends whether your list has other ways to deal with Mimetism-6, how much you prioritise smoke-shooting, and how much you think you can abuse Baggage to spam out deployables.
The Lu Duan, in comparison, has always been more of a connoisseur’s choice. Not as common as Rui Shi, but with some tweaks to weaponry and burst, we would argue that it’s a better gunfighter, until you need to shoot through smoke. But defensively, both profiles can be used to stall enemy attacks – this is a very useful flex piece.
Druze & Dahshat
Zellenkriegers are a pretty damn good example of Irregular smoke-throwing Warbands, which remain one of the best unit archetypes in the game, even if other types improved in comparison with N5. That means they should be taken – in both their NA2 Sectorials, they are the slightly more melee-skilled, but less mobile (unless they roll the right MetaChemistry result) option for cheap Warbands.
Saito Togan changed significantly, losing the ability to reliably forward-Infiltrate, but gaining Bangbomb (situationally useful to save him from long range shooting) and a scary T2 shotgun. With his Stealth, incredible melee skills and smoke grenades, he makes a wonderful finesse close assault piece. Druze is the only Sectorial which can take an alternate profile which swaps the shotgun for a less punchy, but more flexible combi-rifle, and gains Spec Op and D-Charges. That will probably be a very popular pick for Druze in missions that reward Infiltrating Hidden Specialists and/or D-Charging objectives.
Hunzakuts remain class, just for being super cheap Infiltrating specialists. In close quarters fighting they lost all the greatness of light shotguns, having to rely on their shock mines is a lot worse. But still very usable.
Monstruckers are fantastic now, being one of the best ways in the game to make use of the new hotness/insanity – spamming out turrets. Both their NA2 Sectorials frequently want to include Engineers to back up a TAG and/or Remotes, on top of other uses, and getting the points cut for Irregular, when using that Order to spam out a turret is in ‘plan A’ regardless, is pure profit. We expect to see these very frequently.
Valerya remains a very good Wildcard hacker for the price, she’s especially important for Dahshat because she’s the only model there who can take a Pitcher; in Druze she will be neglected more, since she’s a better Hacker, particularly against TAGs, but doesn’t help build their Fireteam bonuses.
The mighty Libertos, one of the most efficient models of N4, remains very good, but not as busted as before, thanks to a reduction in Dodge (from +6 down to +3) and the shotgun changes reducing its stage-diving potential. Still great, and Dahshat is the ultimate proponent, thanks to their unique profiles with Mimetism-3. This allows all sorts of neat shell games with mines and other models.
Fiddler lost a lot with the shotgun and climbing plus changes in N5. She will no longer be the same terror with 2x Jackbots. That said, multiple Peripherals still have big advantages, she can effectively fire B7 in the Active turn (her own Contender is vastly improved). While the gap between FTO and 2-Jackbot versions has closed, she doesn’t Fireteam in Druze, and only with Ghulams in Dahshat, so we’re primarily thinking about the Jackbot version here. She did change to STR, meaning she can risk repairing herself out of NWI! The jury is out on this one. She’s still a mobile, tough Engineer who can be an active mission specialist and attack piece while also providing engineer cover. But these Sectorials may well prefer a cheap Monstrucker and to invest elsewhere for their attackers.
Druze & Ikari
Yuan Yuans changed a lot with the simple inclusion of Super-Jump (Jet Propulsion) alongside their traditional Combat Jump. Being able to effectively move 6-6 if uncontested is a transformative ability for a Warband model. These are now very good even if deployed normally on the table with the rest of your force – arguably, it’s the best way to use them.
Druze Security Teams really are the core and fundamental trooper for their own Sectorial. Their Fireteam options are so broad that they should end up featuring heavily in every single list, while in Ikari they are one option of several, but still very considerable. This rests on their access to hackers with Pitchers. Warhorse, while a slightly improved skill overall, is very good for hackers since it makes Oblivion harmless against them, while Pitchers were improved by N5 and remain the ultimate tech for infowar alpha-striking. Druze can throw Pitchers to 32” without negative modifiers, and due to Fireteams, gaining +1SD is trivial. That’s quite reliable and part of why hacking and particularly Guided is so intrinsic to Druze Bayram (see their section). By comparison, the SWC choices are mediocre, but might still get taken for efficiency in Fireteam-building. Security Chief Arslan is basically the Druze character and historically derided as a classic ‘rifle character’ – too expensive, not that tough or fighty, relatively short ranged, and not filling any vital roles in a list. Well, most of those criticisms still apply, but he does have a Disco Baller, so on BS13 with an X-Visor and easily available +1SD, that gives him a purpose. We are not sure it will keep him in competitive lists given his high price tag. But he’s not bad anymore.
Armand Le Muet is basically unchanged except for a points cost, and he still does what he does – hybrid firepower/ARO piece who’s Mimetism-6 and not easy to kill. He’ll probably still appear sometimes, depending on playstyle. Everyone has always agreed the MSV1 profile is superior, and despite the appearance of Albedo, that’s probably still true. Armand fans will just have to be careful against more armies, the way they always were against White Noise users.
Wardrivers remain not great hackers, but they do keep Sixth Sense without the onerous requirement for a level 5 Fireteam. Their WIP13 and Zero Pain upgrade make them strictly better at this reactive hacking role than the competing Brawler, but they are less multi-purpose, since they don’t contribute to Fireteams the same way. A potential pick, especially for lists which want to include Guided.
Druze Bayram Security
Themed as a ruthless criminal syndicate/mercenary corporation built around the Druze Shock Teams, this has historically been regarded as something of a ‘1 Wound’ faction – it has no HI at all except Diggers, which are really hackable Warbands. This might be unfair as it does have budget TAGs, and a couple other useful models with 2VITA (Wolfgang, Armand) and a couple debatable picks with NWI. But what Druze are known for is a fairly evenly-spread list full of middleweight troopers. A huge part of this approach is their ability to leverage Pitchers, hacking and Guided.
New and Reworked Units
Wolfgang has had a big glow-up, gaining Immunity (ARM) and BS Attack (Continuous Damage) while keeping all his brawling skills: he Dodges 4” on 17s and retains that MA3 break point. While he doesn’t have NBW or an especially high CC stat (by melee monster standards), rolling a special dice and his tankiness to the most common CCWs mean he can reliably beat up a lot of other melee models. I love Wolfgang for any objective room mission and I think he’s a good close assault model overall.
Core Units
Denma Connolly is still an extremely pushed Regular warband. While some lists might end up cutting him down to a Zellenkrieger to save points, we think the 6-2 Move, +1PH, B2 template and improved CCW make him worth it as the default. He also fits into the near-universal Druze team, so in a lot of games it will be very advantageous to at least start him in a Fireteam – he’ll have +1SD in ARO, and you can choose to either Impetuous him out, or activate him along with the team, and potentially place smoke with +1SD, if that would be too dangerous. He’s one of those models which will be taken in most lists.
We’ve mentioned the other really key units for the Sectorial already, they mostly happen to be shared with other factions – the eponymous Druze, Brawlers and Diggers (which are both (Druze) for Fireteams), Scarface, the Clipper remote, and some combination of Yuan Yuans and Zellenkriegers are all very common.
Other Units
Extreme Zellenkriegers are better than in N4, but still not a great option against the normal ones. The real draw, in an edition without +3 range bands for smoke, is a base PH15, making their Impetuous smoke throws fairly reliable. But most lists which try to include one will end up cutting them down to a normal Zellenkrieger – 3pts isn’t worth it for the PH and Immunity(BTS), plus a larger S5 is generally a disadvantage for an Impetuous trooper.
Aida Swanson is … fine, I guess? Viral minelayer with FD+4” is a decent way to protect Fireteams, possibly, since her FTO is (Druze). But ultimately she only has 8” range weapons, she’s not a Specialist, so while she isn’t a terrible value compared to a Druze, what does she do except lay mines? Not a very competitive option in our opinion. We suppose she’s a decent platform if you luck out on your Booty roll.
Fireteam Options
So a big unique draw of Druze is that the Clipper missile bot is a Wildcard. Not restricted to the FTO, which has a +1B ML. The version with Guided can be in a Fireteam, which incidentally is not hard to make a Level 4 team. This does mean, under the current N5 rules at release, Guided Missiles can easily be fired with +1SD, and on BS13 with a bit more investment. This is a very strong incentive to build Guided play into DBS lists. Even if the +1SD weren’t huge, it is just a big quality of life change to have your Guided bot, which is a fragile link in a chain that makes up the Guided capability, sheltered in a Fireteam. You can reposition it more efficiently, which can be important now that range bands affect Guided shots, and it can be defended more easily. We also have to mention the potential of that ‘FTO’ version +1B ML. If you don’t fancy Guided for whatever reason, it’s just a very cheap, easily repairable (in a faction with great cheap engineers) long range gun. Give it Marksmanship via an EVO bot, and that Clipper in a Fireteam is a legitimate active turn threat.
Druze have excellent access to Pitchers (via Druze and Valerya) in Fireteams, for reliable placement. The main Druze team can Wildcard in Diggers, while gaining bonuses as Druze, and other good close protection pieces like Denma.
Core Teams
A lot of players will be drawn to a level 4-5 team based on Druze and/or Brawlers, with the Clipper missile bot the most likely candidate for a non-(Druze) model – its natural home is sheltered in a Core team which stays in the DZ. But Wolfgang, Valerya, Denma all would be helpful in such a team, if possibly better suited to a more mobile 3-model outfit. For integral Firepower, the MSV2 Brawler or cheap HRL may edge out the very slightly more expensive Druze HMG or sniper.
Haris Teams
Besides using your AVA1 Clipper missile bot, the universal Druze team might actually be better as a 3-model unit. It lets you have a pitcher hacker, a close assault piece like a Digger, and a firepower piece, without carrying excess fat.
Duo Teams
This Sectorial can form pure Bulleteer Duos, which are strong in themselves, but we would also advertise the benefits of a Bulleteer spitfire dragging a close assault unit up the field – this could be a Motorised Bounty Hunter, ready to zoom off on its own with its Irregular Order, or it could be Wolfgang Amadeus. Both give you a way to break through hacking defences or mines/templates to clear a path for the Bulleteer.
The TAG Duo options are less impressive, there are no pure options. You could attach Cordelia to Scarface (or any other TAG, but obviously they are both or neither in your list), or use a Brawler engineer. But neither of those options seems as strong as using a Monstrucker with servant bots.
The most common Duo in Druze is still likely to be the basic Druze team themselves. A pitcher hacker pairs so well with a lean firepower or a close assault piece, and there are several keyword-ed combinations players can make.
Overall Faction Impressions
Estimated Rating: B
There’s quite a well-defined playstyle for Druze: Fireteams of multi-role medium infantry, supporting hacking and Guided play. The major change this is likely to see, as N5 matures, is the use of several small teams as well as, or instead of, one big Core. Another boost they’ve got from the new edition is a revitalisation of their more interesting Irregular and sneaky stuff. Saito Togan and Bashi Bazouks are both pieces that can attack surprisingly well into hard targets and have ways to negotiate a lot of AROs with marker states. Monstruckers are one of the most efficient turret carrying units around. Yuan Yuans and Zellenkriegers offer two different budget Warbands, a very important archetype. At the more expensive end, some players are also experimenting with running Druze as a double-TAG faction. Scarface is a good budget TAG these days, while the Triphammer is . . . it’s just a TAG. That sounds like damning with faint praise, but while the cheapest Triphammer won’t compare to a proper TAG as a sweeper, it will still draw fire and absorb enemy efforts nearly as well as a more expensive version. Druze can field two TAGs alongside multiple engineers and a strong hacking game.
Ikari Company
New and Reworked Units
Keisotsu benefitted enormously from N5, rising to BS11 and gaining some more interesting profiles than many line infantry. The massive standout is the hacker, which comes with Crazy Koalas (but not Minelayer) and ECM Hacker: [-6]. The Thunderbolt with BS Attack(-3) is also interesting, and this is one of a very few Lt options in the Sectorial.
Yojimbo separated into dismounted and motorcycle profiles. He got a lot more capable at range due to the rework of his Contender+1B, and he hits particularly hard in melee – his DA CCW is a shocking PS3, and since he kept MA4 for a native Burst 2, he will mess things up if he reaches Silhouette contact. For 1pt more, the Motorised version seems decisively better. Yes it lacks Stealth, but it has Limited Cover and Mimetism-3, foot-Jimbo just has No Cover, infinitely worse.
Key Units
Wu Ming are half of Ikari’s propensity to field a lot of relatively cheap HI. These guys always had some interesting, unconventional weapons compared to many factions’ ‘line’ HI and this has been dialled up a notch. Do you want an ARM4, 2VITA model for 19pts? Of course you do. They’re not the first model in the game to push that threshold, but most competitors have Limited or No Cover, or don’t carry lethal weapons. All Wu Ming now have Boarding Pistols, and most profiles have some kind of EM weapon. That 19pt profile packs an E/Marat, ideal for defence against the Immunity(ARM) threats proliferating in N5. Hell, the most expensive profile is an APHMG for 33pts. These seem like great value.
Tanko are the other half of the budget-HI roster, and one of those troops that suffered a lot when Fireteam stopped cancelling the drawbacks of Impetuous. Limited cover isn’t terrible, but it makes them unusable in their classic role of meaty speedbump AROs, and the ML profile, formerly a common sight, will be shelved. They still can do close assault, with Stealth and decent melee abilities. We do want to note the Discoballer profile; the BS13, Impetuous Tanko is a near perfect platform for that important piece of equipment. The Daiyokai is still an OK active turn gun – NCO and effective 3VITA make up for its lack of particular brilliance at gunfighting. Its HMG profile may still be seen leading two Tankos around, but we think there are better guns in the Sectorial.
Desperadoes are a relatively unusual Warband. They have a few nice little upsides, like a smoke grenade launcher to try and lay smoke further out, Sixth Sense to Dodge without any penalties (e.g. when clearing mines), and Mimetism-3 to offset their No Cover. But the real selling point is they can fork their chain rifle with a B5 assault pistol. These are great trading pieces.
Ninjas are a very rare commodity as forward deployed, marker state specialists in Ikari. They’re not a game breaking unit or anything, we just have to note they are the only Infiltration option, so they will appear in lists for some missions.
Interesting Units
Krakot Renegades are incredibly close to being great troops. They have historically been rejected in favour of Diggers, which are the same cost for a Warband-role type with two wounds. However the changes to Super-Jump make them hyper-mobile, and gaining (ReRoll) on their Metachemistry is also great – there’s a significant chance these can effectively move 8-6! Ikari has plenty of competition for Warbands and disposable close assault units, but these might be worth reconsidering.
Karakuri have also seen little play, since they are not Fireteamable in Ikari, but we want to point out the potential utility of these in defence. That’s a big concern in N5, and either 31pt profile gives a range of useful ARO weapons, including the ability to check the rush of Immunity(ARM) units. With STR3, Immunity(Enhanced) and Remote Presence, if you have engineer support to repair these, they could be really oppressive roadblocks, forcing opponents to slog through them with high burst weapons for relatively little gain. Another upside of deploying them aggressively is they could be ready to move up and complete Objectives if necessary.
Fireteam Options
Core Teams
Keisotsu Fireteams are bound to have a place simply by virtue of cheapness; we expect the popular configurations to heavily feature the hacker with crazy koala and Firewall-6, and the thunderbolt with BS Attack (-3). But Ikari doesn’t have any particularly strong Wildcards for providing firepower, while Tankos can join this team but are severely hampered by Limited Cover. We might see the odd team joined by an MSV2 Brawler sniper as an ARO piece, but a lot of the time Keisotsu teams could be purely cheap support, providing Orders, back-up specialists and late-game AROs, whether that means teams of 3, 4 or 5 models.
Wu Ming Core teams, in the sense of 4-5 models, might sound like madness in N5, when such pain trains have lost a lot of bonuses relative to N4. But they are so damn cheap! They are also the home in Ikari of the Clipper guided missile bot, so as we mentioned in Druze Bayram Sectorial, they can enable some very efficient Guided play, although in Ikari, the pitchers have to come from separate Fireteams. Wu Ming can fold a Brawler hacker into the loving embrace of their Tinbot Firewall(-6), which is nice. We think this Core has a lot of potential in the right missions, since it can shelter valuable supporting capabilities behind some very beefy, tough-to-attack HI.
Haris Teams
Wu Ming can also work in a more direct action construct, whether that is three Wu Ming, or two and a Wildcard – we like the idea of the cheap shotgun/riotstopper Bounty Hunter, to provide expendable defence or to Stealth ahead and remove a hacker or repeater ARO. But in either case, the APHMG seems like an important piece for Ikari. It’s the only high-Burst AP weapon besides the TAGs, and despite the many advantages of giant robots, some of us do prefer the flexibility of an infantry Fireteam instead.
The Tanko Fireteam seems like it will only be seen as a Haris if taking a Daiyokai on top of two Tankos. Without that firepower piece, it simply works better as a Duo.
Druze Teams provide the same sort of highly flexible Haris that they can form in their own Sectorial – Brawlers, Diggers, Arslan and Taowu all count as (Druze), so there are a great number of effective combinations. We expect some combo of hacker/pitcher, Digger, and a firepower piece to be the standard. This team is also a very slightly cheaper way (than Wu Ming) to run the Clipper guided play with +1SD, but both have their merits.
Duo Teams
Druze, again, work great as Duos as well. Tankos are a natural Duo in this edition; Discoballers benefit enormously from +1SD, as do their disposable ARO-type weapons, but don’t expect too much of the latter on Limited Cover units. In some situations, simply moving 6-2 with Stealth to threaten hard targets with monofilament weapons can be clutch.
Mechanised (TAG) Duos are relatively limited in Ikari, with the obvious Scarface and Cordelia combo likely to be the most common. The 19pt Brawler engineer probably isn’t worth using to support a Triphammer – for 20pts you can get an ordinary support engineer (Tokuketsu Butai) with better WIP, a single servant bot, and armed turrets. Even without really great synergies, if your list is looking to use either type of TAG offensively, you can always at least consider slinging a Digger or Motorised Bounty Hunter alongside, ready to spring away into a suicide run.
Krakots are another very fun looking Duo, with their FD+4” they don’t look too well suited to Wildcards. A pair of them forms a nice little assault unit.
Overall Faction Impressions
Estimated Rating: B
We are actually way more impressed with Ikari than we expected; they were not well-regarded in late N4. Are they overall a strong army? Looking at their limits, they have super basic Lt options. The WIP12 Brawlers and Keisotsu at least have cheap places in useful Fireteams. Arslan is not a serious Lt in a Sectorial without Chain of Command. Their infiltrating capability is one Ninja. Their firepower isn’t too impressive, they have a couple BS13 TAGs and HI without gunfighting mods, and then are down to MSV2 Brawlers or Mimetism-3 Druze snipers. Their strengths are a good range of warbands and cheap multi-wound units which can brawl it up. They can also do nearly as much pitcher/guided shenanigans as Druze Bayram; arguably all they need to do. Our starting prediction is that Ikari won’t emerge as a top threat, but in certain mission line-ups they will do surprisingly well, and offer a lot of scope for experienced players.
Dahshat Company
In late N4, Dahshat were actually considered a very strong NA2 by virtue of their access to some super-cheap asymmetrical units. They were famously one of the armies where slots were more precious than points; it was commonly said that they would be happier building 20-model lists than sticking at 15. That is still true to some extent, but some of their higher-end units got real glow-ups.
New and Reworked Units
Zhencha are massively improved, with two profiles particularly important to Dahshat. This is a conundrum because they are AVA1. Their hacker now has the wonderful combo of a full normal Hacking Device, with added Trinity, and that is the only access to Trinity in the Sectorial. Vital if running any sort of hacking capability. On the other hand, the minelayer profile has Minelayer(2). Maybe more replaceable, but in an edition which clearly requires some more defence, having a drop where two markers are mines, and one is a panzerfaust ARO, seems very useful, and it contributes to Dahshat’s overall ability to litter the midfield with ominous markers.
Hulang are also going to get mentioned here, because one of the FTO profiles (a misnomer, since they can’t Fireteam in Dahshat) now carries a Discoballer. This is the only one in the Sectorial, and since there’s no Albedo either, it could be a key flex piece for dealing with hard MSV ARO units. That same FTO also carries an E/Mitter, which is handy on a Mimetism-6 model, but if you’re taking it for direct combat, you’re more likely to pay for a FD+8” profile. We are big fans of using this to set up crazy koala forks in the active turn.
Miranda Ashcroft is now an extremely powerful model, due to the E/Mitter+1B combined with Mimetism-6 and Marksmanship. She will reliably brick most HI/TAGs in the game at long range, the only exceptions being those with Immunity (Enhanced). Albedo, Mimetism-6 and Warhorse will all mitigate her effectiveness, as will enemy engineers on call, but she is an incredibly efficient model.
Key Units
Maghariba Guard could almost be under reworked units, having dropped enormously in points cost. It also benefits from the Baggage changes, since the mine dispenser profile can just spam out mines every turn now, even before spending any additional Orders on Reloading. We still do like that profile the most, but the others will no doubt find adherents as well. It’s very hard to get away from the Maggy in Dahshat, because there aren’t any other high-burst, long range AP weapons available. We think a very high proportion of the faction’s lists will include one.
McMurrough is not as good as he was; changes to Immunity (ARM) and smoke grenades losing range bonuses hurt him, as did a drop to MA2. But he’s still a great breakthrough piece, a natural Speedball recipient, and near to an auto-take.
Kum Motorised Troops are just really good Warbands. Every Dahshat player will have to go on their own spiritual journey of self-discovery here: do they prefer Mimetism-3, blazing fast movement, and Dogged on the Kum bikers? Or Metachemistry (ReRoll) with the easier to manage Silhouette size of the Zellenkriegers? Our best is that many good players will end up mixing both, since table layout and terrain density matter so much to their relative strengths.
Ghulam are still important as the natural Lts of Dahshat. Brawlers are the only alternative, and are more expensive for worse WIP and very limited increases in stats. Every Dahshat list will still include a Ghulam Lt (probably the +1 Command Token version, worthwhile for an additional 4pts) and a decoy.
Zuyong are good solid HI, which offer a lot of Fireteam value, and they all got cheaper. Their TacAware HMG profile has usually been popular as an efficient high-burst weapon, they can still get a Tinbot Firewall(-6) to shelter Valerya Gromoz, they’re just good to have. Shout out to their E/Mitter profile, which is defensively very useful against Immunity(ARM) threats for 22pts.
Other Units
Lucien Sforza is a model I’d love to see become good and widely used, but the jury is out on whether he is a truly competitive choice.
Odalisques are an answer to a question no one asked. They are relatively tough (ARM2, 1VITA and NWI with Shock Immunity) for their points cost, they have Combat Instinct and Sixth Sense, they all carry direct templates and are sort of hardened against melee attack thanks to Para CCWs(-9). But what are they supposed to be defending? They’re not actually cheap enough to be disposable, they are BS12 without any modifiers, they don’t have particularly good active turn weapons or any Specialist profiles. We just don’t see any reason to use these, except maybe one as a sidekick (ie +1SD provider) for Miranda, if you don’t want to fold her into a larger Fireteam.
Caterans are fine, they give a camo sniper option which opponents need to respect in your Reactive turn. The downsides are they’re not particularly great shooters, so they can’t always use their Irregular Order in an efficient way. Dahshat has a lot of ‘Irregular pressure’ already, in that they want to take a few cheap, aggressive Irregular units in most competitive lists. So the more reactive, static units kind of need to be Regular. It’s also hard to disguise what a Cateran is against savvy opponents – it doesn’t Infiltrate and all of your other camo options, including the camo minelayers, do.
Traktor Muls‘ first profile is just an unarmed bot for 5pts. That would be spectacular in some factions, although a big fat S4 base means they’re less good as pure Order batteries than high-tech units like Imetrons or Netrods. In Dahshat, where you typically run out of slots before points, they aren’t too attractive. The launcher profiles both offer cheap Guided fire, but with an 8-24″ positive range band [range modifiers are applied to Guided shots in N5] that actually isn’t very easy to use. The Total Reaction Uragan version might have some utility if you have SWC to burn, but mines and deployed turrets are probably better disposable defences in Dahshat than 14pt troopers.
Fireteam Options
Core Teams
Dahshat hasn’t previously gone in for big teams much. The classic use would be a defensive Ghulam Core, and they just have so many other good uses for slots – that’s often their big list building pressure, rather than running out of points. Zuyong could definitely be built into a four or five model team with the right wildcards, but a lot of the time they’d be fine with two models plus a single wildcard.
Haris Teams
Three-model teams strike us as fitting better into Dahshat lists. Ghulams certainly work well as the basis for a wildcard – one Lt candidate and one Doctor are great to give +1SD and possible revival to Miranda, or Valerya. They also seem like a preferable basis than Brawlers. Yes, the latter can take a Zellenkrieger or Monstrucker, but those units seem way better solo. The Brawler profiles that are attractive, and Diggers, which count as Brawlers, seem better in a Duo (see below).
Of the more expensive Haris types, Zuyong are the obvious choice. They offer TacAware and solid long range SWC weapons, as well as a Firewall-6 to shelter Valerya behind. This is also the only way to get the popular Fireteamed Rui Shi, a very efficient and repairable smoke-shooting platform. Odalisques do not even remotely tempt us as a Haris.
Duo Teams
We think Brawlers really come into their own here, the MSV2 sniper and the super cheap HRL both pair really well with that (also very cheap) Sixth Sense hacker. Not a tough team, but a highly efficient one. You can also include Diggers as Brawlers, and that makes them very nice as sacrificial defensive units, and more efficient on offense, since your warband attack can drag a Specialist alongside, or reposition a firepower piece. Duos also offer a potential reason to take one Odalisque, to buddy up with Miranda – but we think it will be more common to add that terror to another, multi-role team.
The heavy/TAG themed Duo Fireteam gives some interesting perks for Dahshat. The obvious one is to link a Rafiq FTO remote to a Maghariba (or much more rarely a Triphammer). This gives the ability to drag Sensor, a Specialist and a Repeater along with your key asset. This isn’t maybe as unique or powerful as it once was – all TAGs can pop out their Ancillary specialist now – but it’s still a solid team. The other intriguing unit in this team is the Motorised Bounty Hunter. We’re not sure those will be taken over cheaper, smoke-throwing Kum Riders, but if they do, being dragged along with a TAG, ready to slingshot into a trading attack, or clear a Repeater or EM Mine, is a great efficiency. If you do take two MBH, which we don’t advise, you could also at least deploy them in a pure Duo, but that’s a real edge case.
Overall Faction Impressions
Estimated Rating: B+
We think Dahshat remains the most impressive example of the scrappy, aggressive Irregular playstyle which typifies these first three NA2 Sectorials. The ‘low end’ cheap profiles here are so damn good, notably those Mimetism-3 Libertos, but key units like the Zhencha, Saito Togan, McMurrough and Miranda all bring a lot. There’s plenty of overlap with the factions we have already discussed, and Dahshat is noticeably weaker in hacking potential. It’s typically been regarded as a very aggressive Sectorial. The HI options are a bit more limited than Ikari’s, but they still have Firewalls and do bring TacAware to the party. Ikari are well equipped to abuse the new turrets thanks to Monstruckers and the Maghariba’s baggage rule. A combination of mines, turrets, and cheap midfield camo – which could be a Libertos or a Zhencha hacker, a very nice puzzle for opponents – might make Dahshat a genuinely capable defensive faction as well, which is an important requirement in the developing N5 meta.
White Company
WhiteCo are a breed apart from the other NA2s. They don’t have the same breadth of Irregular troops, notably dirt cheap warbands. What they do have is a range of gunfighters – the PanO part of their DNA – and broad access to Specialists including quality hackers. Even in N4 they were a very tactically flexible faction. They had the firepower, some nice close assault, they could build hacking (inc Guided), they had access to both smoke and White Noise. With the N5 change, and notably the cuts of some NA2 factions, they profited massively. They gained a double fistful of special characters from scrapped factions StarCo and ForCo, and were also given some additions just for the hell of it, like Carmen Jones and Scarface. Consequently they have an unusually broad roster due to all these AVA1 characters – the Fireteam Wildcards list is one unit and eight(!) special characters. Due to all this special sauce floating around, the list paradigm in WhiteCo is less about fully disposable units and more about unique capabilities that are just lean enough to be usable. They don’t have a very broad ‘top end’ of super expensive units, there are a lot of middleweights, but many of those offer exceptional value.
New and Reworked Units
Hawkwood, thematically the leader of WhiteCo, was previously just a mid-range, active turn gunfighter. He could be the Lt, or have Chain of Command, but there wasn’t much reason to do so. He kept a CoC option, but with a B+1 combi rifle, albeit with an X-Visor, that doesn’t seem worthwhile for the cost. It’s too expensive for Lt security, not very fast to be a specialist, and the gunfighting is limited in range and punch. No, the draw for Hawkwood is now the other profiles, which have a K1 sniper rifle. This chimes with his new +1SD rule and means he is a premier ARO piece or long-range gunfighter. As a Wildcard and (Fusilier), it’s easy to get him to B1+2SD for AROs, and B2+2SD in active. We should note that the K1 sniper is perhaps not as great a weapon as it appears. K1 is a great ammunition type, but the base PS7 lets it down. Against targets with less than ARM2, it is simply worse than a normal sniper rifle. Even against its supposed target set, really heavily armoured units, you would rather have a multi sniper, firing DA, against an ARM6 target in cover. It’s basically only exceptional against heavy TAGs. So the jury is out on Hawkwood as firepower. He can work, he has the BS13, Mimetism-3, and the dice to win FtF rolls. But his actual results may be underwhelming for 36-40pts.
Does he work as a Lt now? We like the theme, and you can (for 4pts) get +1Lt Order, so if he’s the Lt, you’re taking that too. But this locks in a lot of your list. You will need a CoC model; WhiteCo has several, but they are start in the mid-20s and want to be in Fireteams. Hawkwood himself will need at least two models, probably at least one a Fusilier, to Fireteam with. You will definitely take Karhu since they’re your only NCO option. None of these are hardships, but it is a very defining choice. We will see if long term, Hawkwood beats out the humble WIP12 Fusilier as the Lt of choice for the Sectorial.
Hannibal is a rival Lt option, but we’re not sure this Sectorial is big enough for two genius mercenary captains. His only Lt profile is very expensive, and has the problem of being telegraphed on deployment – experienced players can spot that it is the only one with Strategic Deployment and a multi marksman rifle. It is a sort of jack-of-all-trades problem. He’s not that fighty; only BS12 with no mods, NWI/Shock Immune but not very armoured, with unexceptional weaponry. Biometric visor is far too situational to be worthwhile. So you’re paying for Strategos, admittedly a great skill, and Strategic Deployment, which is nice but doesn’t chime with what you want your Lt to be doing. If you use this Lt you’ll again want CoC, since Strategos makes it super obvious after Turn 1, and even worse than with Hawkwood, you’re now ~60pts deep on capabilities which are really just command; they’re not actually giving you much fighting power.
Two of the CoC options for Hannibal seem to be non-competitive; Haidao provide the skill for cheaper, and Emily with more utility. But the Strategic Deployment/CoC option seems like it could work, because Hannibal and Valkyrie are both (Orc) Wildcards. Valkyrie is an excellent close assault and melee combatant. Immunity (Enhanced) lets her shrug off EM weaponry, comfortably risk fights against other melee specialists, and generally brute force things. We’ll get into the possibilities in the Fireteam section; there seems to be some play with this – but we have to question if Hannibal is a key part of the team.
Emily Handelman is the most attractive CoC option in the faction. Not cheap at 28pts, but she fits what you want a CoC model to do – she can sit back in the early game, and if there are no other plays open, plunk out EM (or normal) grenades to 32” on a 7. Not very efficient offensively, but very frustrating for hunkered-down opponents to be on the wrong side of. In the late game, she’s a decent Specialist and light gunfighter who can try for an objective. Don’t sleep on the Forward Observer possibilities either. She’s WIP14 and FO does benefit from +1SD in N5, inflicting Targeted state without a BTS roll. If you include Guided in your list, this is a powerful trick which opponents, focussed on Spotlight platforms, might not see coming.
WhiteCo lost Valerya Gromoz, but gained Laxmee, who is definitely better. Having a HD+ is terrific due to how useful White Noise is, and being a Fireteam Wildcard with a Pitcher is also key for a hacker. The added utility of Fairy Dust (occasionally useful for TAGs or HI) and Cyber-Minelayer is just gravy. We expect Laxmee to feature in the majority of WhiteCo lists.
Carmen Jones, added for god only knows what reason, brings a new rapid close assault piece to the faction. We’re not sure she’s better than N4 favourite Liang Kai, but she is even cheaper at 17pts, and benefited from combing Limited Cover with Impetuous. While Motorcycles can be very table-dependent, we consider her an auto-take. Every list needs close assault, and she delivers it: she’s fast, has a brilliant fork from B2 template, B3 AP heavy pistol, plus her Peripheral’s trench-hammer, she’s Dogged, she brings smoke, she even has Sensor. This is a truly great piece for probing the enemy’s defences Turn 1, or diving straight in for a trade. No notes.
Señor Massacre is an interesting close combat model, but definitely feels crowded out in WhiteCo. He is a Wildcard but doesn’t count as anything, and he doesn’t have the speed of Carmen or Liang Kai which might make him want to run solo. He can bring reliable Eclipse smoke, but there’s less demand for that when you have such good units with normal smoke, and access to White Noise. Likely to be a very situational, uncommon pick.
Wild Bill is a really nice budget Fireteam gunfighter with the N5 upgrade to his Contender. 22pts for a Marksman and NWI shooter is good value. He’s awkward to fit in though, he can only Fireteam on top of Karhus (or Kaplans, which you won’t do) and doesn’t contribute to the Fireteam bonuses. So while he would work OK in that team, for not much cost, you don’t actually need him there. He would be better than Karhu at tanking through a normal template ARO (not a flamethrower or Shock mine), and maaaybe more efficient at fighting a 2-wound, non-Mimetism target in cover. But he’s likely to be written out once lists are finalised and efficiencies are made.
WhiteCo did also gain Scarface and the Anaconda as TAGs; our instinctive reaction is while the Anaconda is far worse than the already-present GuiJia, Scarface is arguably better if you want to push a TAG. But he isn’t likely to be a common sight in WhiteCo lists, the faction seems more likely to spread smaller units about.
Key Units
Fusiliers were really common as a big Core team in N4 WhiteCo. Nowadays, they still have a real place as Lt/Lt decoys, or even if taking another Lt option, taking at least two to power up either Hawkwood or a Haidao sniper will be common.
Varangian Guard are still the cheapest smoke in the faction and will still be taken, although they lost out with the Berserk changes and the loss of +3 range for smoke. They can now pure-Duo with Shona Carano, which is handy. Shona gained a lot from the Super-Jump changes, so with Varangians looks competitive with Liang Kai as a high-martial arts killer. On that note, Liang Kai remains excellent, indeed, picking up Limited Cover is a significant buff to an already strong piece. He can Wildcard but is more likely to try and remain solo, or break out of a team with his first Impetuous Order, if he can.
Beasthunters also gain from Super-Jump; a fast heavy flamer and melee fork is nothing to sniff at. These were very popular by late N4 because they are cheap enough to be disposable, and having camouflage is a great way to penetrate enemy defence and take out a key target, e.g. a single-wound hacker. The FTO version lost minelayer, which is fair enough for its cost. It could still be useful given its speed, but our initial reaction is the camouflage profile with panzerfaust is now the optimal choice.
Karhu were regarded as maybe the best single-wound gunfighters in the game in late N4. The waters have risen slightly around them, but that feuerbach +1B remains a terrifying gun. That particular profile didn’t get any cheaper, and while the others did drop slightly, Climbing Plus is far less useful. But they were starting from such a high point that these will still likely be very popular. Nisses were sort of neglected by comparison in WhiteCo. They have now closed the gap with 6-2 movement, and an environment that may offer more good targets for smoke-shooting. But the Karhu still looks a mite more flexible, especially since a Nisse can only usefully join a team built on multiple Jujaks or Orcs, which don’t really complement it.
Jujaks are the HI of choice in WhiteCo – they can be the basis for any Fireteam, and critically they can take a Tinbot Firewall(-6). This makes them terrific support for Laxmee and/or Haidao. The latter got a big glow-up on their KHD profile, with BTS3 and a pitcher. That makes it a very efficient profile for 22pts. While it lost the shotgun template, that KHD now has a B+1 boarding shotgun, so it’s a nice doorkicker, as well as a pitcher hacker, in a Fireteam.
Tiger Soldiers we nearly put into ‘other units’. They are effective gunfighters with BS13 and Mimetism-3, good specialists with WIP14, and they gained Super-Jump (Jet Propulsion). But this costs points – the most useful profiles, the hacker and spitfire, are 29pts apiece, and these are still 1VITA models, so can be stopped by a simple template. That said, Tigers have won many a game in the past, and are probably still very useful in the right missions.
Other Units
CSU are a sort of hyper-optimised line infantry; in a vacuum they look fantastic for their price. But they don’t fit well in WhiteCo; they can join Fusilier teams but not form their basis, and as good as Metachemistry and Sixth Sense are, they don’t give line infantry types a clear reason to occupy one of your 15 slots.
Orcs are aggressively fine. Their issue is competing profiles – if you want to bind up a HI-based Fireteam, Jujaks are cheaper and have better Firewalls. If you want firepower, there are units with better gunfighting skills. If you want an ARO, Haidao and Hawkwood aren’t quite as resilient, but offer better odds.
Kaplan Tactical Services are also firmly ok. They all gained boarding pistols and Combat Instinct, which helps offset some dangerous situations, but they’re just too expensive for 1VITA models without offering some offensive capability to capitalise on.
Blade-Ops will usually be taken to bolster a HI-based Fireteam with TacAware, as well as providing an engineer to buy out critical states, and potentially a Stealth/unhackable model to clear a repeater. They’re pretty decent. The FD+8”, Decoy(2) profile is weird, but we need more testing to see if it’s good. Some potential synergy with Peacemakers there, and a good profile to slap Servant bots on.
Blockers look very niche. The hacker is pointless, but the basic 14pt model offers Sensor for the same price as a generic Pathfinder Remote. We’re not sure it’s a better option, but it is potentially more useful defensively with its template. Maybe one to consider if you have a Fusilier team you want to staple it to.
Nokken were always derided as a FD+8” unit which didn’t have a marker state – this just meant they were very hard to use when playing second; if you tried to get value by deploying them far out in the midfield, they got killed quickly. That is probably still true. The cheapest profile, a 22pt FO with panzerfaust, may have some defensive utility, but there is a lot of competition for that price in WhiteCo.
The Guijia TAG had few defenders in N4. It just doesn’t offer much beyond the ‘ordinary’ heavy TAG package. That is very good, don’t get us wrong, but why play WhiteCo with all their cool gunfighters, and take this more straightforward option? We guess it does benefit marginally in Move-Move speed from the super jump changes.
Guilang Skirmishers are divisive. Lauded by some as ‘the best skirmisher in the game’, I don’t particularly like them. They have what I consider an overblown rep by virtue of being one of the O.G. skirmisher units in the game. But they are expensive, and MSV1 is just kind of a bloat skill on a BS11 model without the weaponry to engage in gunfights.
Chaksa Longarms have been a joke option for their entire existence. They might have improved a bit in N5, but they’re still a BS12, 1VITA units with no gunfighting mods, which is the opposite for what you want to spend SWC on. Sixth Sense and BS Attack (-1SR) are good skills, but not enough on their own. Hilariously Chaksa have Immunity (BTS) but Vulnerability (Viral), which for a one-wound unit like this is the only BTS-targeting ammunition they are really worried about.
Fireteam Options
Core Teams
The old Fusilier Core was a staple of N4 WhiteCo, and like most equivalents, we don’t think it will be that popular in N5, the bonuses just aren’t as strong. 4-5 model teams might still crop up where lists have enough oddball models they want to staple onto two Fusiliers (Hawkwood also counts) to get a bonus. This is also the only team which can include Tao Wu, or a Blocker if you really want Sensor. So we can see some formats for it, e.g. two Fusiliers, Tao Wu pretending to be something vulnerable, and a firepower piece. This is still the cheapest basis to buy +1SD for a gunfighter.
The basis for meatier WhiteCo big teams has usually been the Firewall Jujaks, and that option still looks valid now. Both Laxmee and Haidao benefit enormously from being in this Fireteam, so it often ends up being 4-5 models, since you want an SWC gun as well. Note that you can get the +1SD bonus from having two Haidao, as easily as having two Jujaks. This type of team is also the only one that can bring a Nisse, which is perhaps an alternative to the mighty Karhu. Orcs have typically been neglected in WhiteCo teams; while Hannibal and Valkyrie are both (Orcs) and may see some play, our instinct is this works better at three models, as below.
You can technically build a large Core team around Karhu (or Kaplans, LOL) but realistically it ain’t happening. Too expensive and fragile.
Haris Teams
With smaller teams looking popular in N5, we may see more Fusilier teams that are just the two bods for the bonus and one firepower model, like a Haidao Wildcard or an Orc. But since Hawkwood is a (Fusilier), taking him and one cheap Fusilier gives you a spot free (you actually have to fill it, since they’re not a valid Duo) for some flexible specialist type. We like Hawkwood, Fusilier, TaoWu, but you could take another ARO weapon if you wanted to spend half your SWC on one big reactive stopper, or you could shove Liang Kai in front of their position as security, and Impetuous him away during your first turn. While the two Fusilier + gun team will always be a potential option, the Hawkwood team especially is unproven; we need to see how his new sniper profile works out in practice.
A Jujak-based team can also work great at three models. Firewall, hacker, gun, done. The main advantage to Orcs is in including Valkyrie; this would work well in a three-model team if you really wanted Hannibal’s Strategic Deployment, but he is expensive. Maybe a Blade FTO would be a cheaper specialist, and TacAware is often more valuable than a bit of forward deployment.
Karhu-based Haris teams were practically universal in my N4 WhiteCo lists; now they are more optional because you can take a pure Karhu Duo. But we can see using this Haris if you want to include another model here for defensive bonuses in Round 1. You can always add the cheap Beasthunter FTO, and either use it as defense for the team against an alpha strike, and/or drag it with you into the midfield before cutting it loose.
Duo Teams
Karhu Duo, light of my life. This is just the sort of new-N5-style Duo that sparks joy. That outstanding feuerbach profile, and an engineer or paramedic to taste. Simple perfection.
Jujak Duo teams are suboptimal, because as actual firepower, they have little to offer – their advantage is the Tinbot, and then you need 3+ models to even get a hacker and the +1SD bonus. Orc Duos seem best as one Orc HMG and Valkyrie, rather than two actual Orcs; that looks good if you don’t mind forgoing a Specialist in the team.
Varangian Duos will probably be ubiquitous, if only because it makes smoke more reliable. The headline change is that Shona is a (Varangian). Including her gets you the +1SD smoke, helps Shona into the enemy lines safely, and forms a close assault team that’s still sort of disposable. It’s a mark of just how competitive that space is for WhiteCo that we’re not sure it will be the first choice over Carmen and/or Liang Kai. This kind of pick does mean you can have a good saturation of smoke in a list – one Shona Duo, one Impetuous Varangian, and Carmen.
Overall Faction Impressions
Estimated Rating: A-
WhiteCo clearly have a lot of legs; the issue is these capabilities all cost and it’s impossible to get all their shiny stuff at once. It would be easy to say, from their wealth of gunfighters, close assault characters, good hacking projection, etcetera, that WhiteCo is decisively better than the other NA2 options. But we think that may be too simplistic, and certainly too early in the edition to decide. Defence could be an issue for WhiteCo. Their reactive pieces are relatively expensive snipers (which can be a losing tactic against TAGs and other dedicated sweepers), a forward hacking net which requires expensive Guilangs and/or Peacemakers, the standard flash pulse bots, and a certain amount of templates. They can put down some mines, but it’s nothing like the ablative defence, or access to turrets, which some of their rivals enjoy. We think this could end up being a sleeper hit of a Sectorial, but a lot of its units, while individually very cool, may not fit the paradigm of what makes a strong list in N5. We’re keen to experiment and a full faction focus guide for WhiteCo should follow in due course.
Conclusion
Rumours of the death of NA2 were greatly exaggerated. Yes, some Sectorials vanished, but we think the survivors have been intentionally diversified and really do offer interesting options and their own distinctive playstyles. It’s really very difficult to say whether a faction is competitively ‘good’ in a new edition. None of the NA2 strike us as big boogeymen for other factions to measure themselves against (Combined Army is the most obvious example of one of those). But they all seem like factions with access to strong tricks and efficient lists. What we are particularly gals about is that with the possible exception of Druze, all of these have multiple themes they can lean into, they are far from mono-build. Even in Druze, which is heavily centred on teams of their eponymous mercs, the variety of individual attack pieces will make list building a lot of fun.
We’re still enjoying the new edition rush – some large tournaments have been played internationally, with more coming down the pipe – and will deliver a few more of these initial impression articles as things settle.
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